Grapevine: Button Denies Departure Talk

Jenson Button has scoffed at the rumours linking him to a number of teams for next season's Championship despite yet more disappointment in the Benetton when he spun out at the French Grand Prix.

The British driver has come under intense criticism for not matching the pace of Italian teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, but technical director Mike Gascoyne admitted that the team let him down in France having introduced their new aerodynamic package too late.

However, Button, on a two-year loan deal with Benetton, is confident that his team can turn it around while hinting that bigger teams are waiting in the wings. "I'm finding it really good working with Benetton and with Giancarlo as a teammate. It is all really interesting at the minute because I'm driving for so many teams next year," Button joked.

"All I know is that I'm here for 2002 and that things will be better next year. The car is getting better all the time and we've known all along that it would take time to get things right."